The impact of prison-based programs in Italian penitentiary system

In recent years at international level, there has been growing pressure on policy makers and practitioners to identify and support evidence-based programs shown to be effective in helping incarcerated men and women develop... [ view full abstract ]

In recent years at international level, there has been growing pressure on policy makers and practitioners to identify and support evidence-based programs shown to be effective in helping incarcerated men and women develop positive attitudes and life-effectiveness skills to prepare them for reentry into their communities. The detrimental impact of imprisonment, not only on individuals but on families and communities, and economic factors also need to be taken into account when considering the need for prison reforms" (The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014).
In one of the most sophisticated assessments of recidivism in US, Langan and Levin (2002) traced the criminal involvement of state prisoners released in 1994. Within 3 years of release, 67.5% of the prisoners were rearrested.
In 2013, the European court of Human Rights condemned Italy for the inhuman and degrading conditions of prisons. This has been a consequence of an increase in oversize of the prison population, resulting in the enactment of laws that have greatly exacerbated the sanctions for immigration, drug consumption and recidivism, so much so that it is arisen a serious overcrowding. In June 2010, the DAP reported that despite the regulatory capacity that prisons were able to sustain it was estimated at 44,568 units, prisoners actually present in Italian prisons amounted to 68,258. Moreover the recidivism rate in Italy has esteemed at 70%.
This is why since 2014 due to a series of regulatory actions, we are seeing a process of cultural transformation of the penitentiary system in Italy, thanks to a renewed attention to the prison theme stressed by the European Court of Human Rights. Inmates have to be placed at the center of the system, recognizing a larger number of rights and building a path based on knowledge of the prisoners and a constant activity of listening.
In the Political Priorities 2017 of the Italian Ministry of Justice it has underlined the important role of prison programs aimed to favour re-education and rehabilitation of the inmates.
This study is intended to add to our understanding of how prison-based programming affects inmates' well-being and prison management. In particular this study analizes two theatrical projects of Opera Prison in Milan. Focus groups, interviews and survey were conducted from December 2015 to October 2016.